Screen for wall apertures



E. T. FISK Sept. 20, 1932.

SCREEN FOR WALL APERTURES Filed Aug. 12, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVN'T'aIQ Sept. 20, 1932. E. T. FISK SCREEN FOR WALL APERTURES Filed Aug. 12, 1930 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES ERNEST THOMAS rrsx, or SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH warns, AUSTRALIA 1 SCREEN I EOR WALL APEBTURES- application filed August 12, 1920, Serial no. 474,763, and inAustralia August 23, 1929.

Window blinds or sunshades made of canvas or similar non-rigid material have been constructed hitherto for the purpose of shading from the suns direct rays, to ofier pro- 5 tection to the inside of a building against rain, or toprevent or minimize the passage of light between space inside and space outside an oflice or other enclosure. Most sunshades used on structures extend from the 1 top of a window. or other similar aperture outward and downward, Nearly all blinds hang and move in a vertical direction and while they may fulfilthe three abovementioned requirements, no attention has been directed to constructing window blinds or sunshades primarily for the purpose of minimizing noise entering an enclosure from external sources, secondly to facilitate ventila-' tion and with one or more of the former three requirements as desirable but subsidiary features.

V The so-called Venetian blind, which differs from the more common type of roller or can vas blind, is arranged primarily for regulating the amount of light passing through a wall aperture, and, although it isrecognized that the Venetian blind has some advantages over the ordinary roller, 01' canvas blind in that while it is very effective for preventing the passage of light it allows greater ventilation, it is structurally and, according to the laws of physics, of no appreciable use in minimizing the passage of sound waves. Awning and vertical blinds tend to restrict ventilation.

In my prior United States Patent Nos 1,617,384, 1,823,798 and 1,866,201, sound suppressing fitments for windows and other wall,

4 apertures are described and claimed. In the constructions disclosed in these prior specifications, the sound suppressing panels are made of rigid material, butI have discovered that flexible roller blinds maybe advanta-= geously employed in, or in lieu of, one or more of the rigid panels hitherto employed.

According to the present invention, one

or more panels constituted of textile material or other non-rigid fabric may be disposed in angular'relationship with a wall aperture,

and being adapted to be rolled, they tend to facilitate the desired soundsuppres'sing and ventilating functions, to cheapenconstruction and to improvearchitectural appearance.

, Such panels may also be employed as sunshades or light screens and have theadva'ntags that ventilation isgpermitted to a higher degree than by using awnings or vertical blinds such as are usually employed for shading or screening wall apertures.

In addition to the use of such non-rigid rollab'le material for or as the sound suppressing panels herein referred to, appreciable advantages are obtained by using a plurality of rollable panels arranged one above another in tieror echelon formation so as to form a series of' readily adjustable louvres which may be employed in a wall aperture to facilitate ventilation while stopping or minimizing the passage of sound and/or light.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 isa perspective view of a window, partly in section showing a main sash pivotally. mounted at the top of the window opening, a plurality of sub-sashes mounted-on horizontal axes in the main sash and 'a plurality of roller. blinds fitted on the main sash and adapted to be drawn inward and downward to constitute sunshades and sound suppressing screens, and to be rolled up out of the way when not in. use. The spaces between the sides and bottomend' ofthe sash and the window opening are shown fitted with sound suppressing panels ofirigid material; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a window'in which a plurality of'roller blinds are fitted on a light. frame pivotallyhung at its top end to the window, frame. In this construction the glazed subsashes shown inFig. 1 are not used; 7 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of a window with a hopper-shaped screen, the sides of the screen comprising roller blinds mounted on alight frame fixed to the outer side of the window frame. The bottom of the hopper may be, closed by a rollable screen or by a rigid panel; a Fig. 4'is .a vertical sectionalelevationof a sliding sash window fitted with two hopperview shaped screens with rollable sound suppress ing panels;

Fi is a perspective view showing a hopper with rollable sound suppressing screens fitted in the lower part ofthe window opening and a rollable screen drawn outward and downward to serve as a sunshade at the upper part of the window;

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary sectional elevations showing alternative arrangements Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the invention as ap lied to casement windows.

n Fig. 1, A is the main sash; B thesides.

of the window opening; G sub-sashes hingehung to cross bars 0 on the main sash; E fixing bolts for the sub-sashes C; F lip heel on the bottom rail of the sash A; G bottom ventilating panel hinged at H to bar J fixed on the outer part of the frame sill K; L perforations in the panel G; M. notches in the edge of margin boards N which are'fitted on the inner. edges of the posts of the frame B.

P are spring rollers mounted on the cross barsO'ofthe sash A, and Qare stretcherrods in thehemined ends of the blinds R, which are rolled on the springrollers' P. The ends of these rods are engageable in any of the -notches Mto set the respective blinds at any required pitch, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The

main sash A may be hinged at X to the top. ofthe window frame to swing outward, or it may be fixed in the position shown in Fig. 1. The space between the'edge of the main sash when opened, and the edge of the window opening is preferably fitted with a sound suppressing panel T as shown.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 2 is similar, to that shown in Fig. 1, but in this 'case the sub-sashes C are omitted.

' sound suppressing panel such as G in Fig. I

or'by any oneof the sound suppressing panels described and claimed. in .my United States i 4 patent specifications Nos.1,617,384, 1 ,823,798

and 1,866,201. i

Fig. 4 shows a sliding sash'window fitted with two triangular sided hoppers U and U.-

The spring rollers may be mounted at U2 or at U3 on the side frames U5 and'the rollable screen-U4 may be drawn upwardand outward, orinward and downward, according tothe position ofthe. roller. The sides of the hopper are preferably enclosed as shown in the lower part of the window in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 5, S is a hopper shaped screen with rollable panels S, S2, S3 fitted in the lower part of a window opening, and S4 is a sound suppressing sunshade or weather screen fitted I downward and outward and set in the position shown. In any case, itis adapted to overhang the hopper screen S2 and to exclude the direct rays of the sun and-to prevent the entry of rain into the apartment. f

The frames R7 and S5 which support the hoppersR and S may be permanently fixed to the window frame or they may be dem0unt able, or they maybe hinge mounted to c01 lapse andfold fiat when-notin use. j Fig. 6' shows main sash Y pivotally mounted at its top end, to swing outward, and fitted with sub-sashes Y and rollable screens Y2. The screens Y2 maybe mounted on the main frame Y and arranged to be drawn downward and inward instead of downward and outward as showni'n Fig. 6. I

In Fig. 7,- Z and Z are rollable screens each mount'edon afr'ameZ2 hinged at Z3to swing outward. Z45are glazed panels which are fitted in'theupperpart of each window opening. 7Z5 is a panel, preferably perforated to facilitate ventilation and suppress sound waves. U Y l A further ethod of carryingthis invention into efiect andone which isparticularly adaptable to casement windows,is shown in Fig. 8.. It consists in hinging a framework WVto the stile of a casement N2. 'In-cthis' framework is fitted one rollablescreen W3 at its upper end adapted so that the screen W3 may be drawn downward thus to make, the frontal panel of a' hopper when the casement is opened, the casement panel We forming one of the sides of the hopper. The bottom of the hopper isclosed by any "suitable sound suppressing panel W.

When two suchcasements open outward in opposite directions from onecentral meeting a post, as shown in Fig. 9, therollablescreen is made of sufficientwidth to extend so that the casement panels form two sides W5 a'nd W6 and the screen W7'the'front'of the hopper. *WS is a perforated sound suppressing panel which closes the bottomj'of' the hopper;

: The frames R7, U5 and S5in' Figs. 3', 4 and 5-respectively and the frame shown in Fig. 9

can be fitted tocarry a plurality of rollable screens one above another-so that they may be drawn downwardandinwardin such a man-. ner as to form a series of louvresand to leave ventilating'spaces between the screens.

hen a, plurality. of screens is employed one above another and adaptedto be drawn across the recess as herein described, they form an effective sunshade for a window, which allows a high degree of ventilation while screening ofi direct rays from the sun. Such a sunshade is preferable to the ordinary form of awning, which closes much of the aperture against ventilation and which, through being constantly exposed to dust and weather outside the window, quickly becomes unattractive in appearance. Rollable screens such as described in this specification for use as sunshades tend to protect the window aperture against the entry of dust and have an additional advantage in that they can be prevented from rattling in windy weather.

It is an advantage when employing a plurality of rollable screens as herein described, to use in conjunction therewith a specially constructed window similar to that illustrate in Figures 1, 2, 6 or 7 hereof.

A specially construct-ed window suchas any one of those described above provides a convenient and attractive method of applying this invention. The rollers carrying the flexible screens are attached to the inner face of the main frame so that the screens may be drawn inward for sound-proofing or sunshading purposes. For sound-proofing the best effect is obtained when the screens are drawn downward and inward (see Fig. 2), but in some cases it is an advantage to draw them across horizontally or to draw them upward and inward. It will be apparent that the rollers carrying these screens could be fixed at or near the inside of the aperture so that the screens are drawn outward toward the main frame (see Fig. 6) but it is preferable to fit them as described above.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Means for reducing sound wave transmission through a ventilating aperture 1ncludino; a frame angularly inclined outwardly from the vertical, and a plurahty of rollable non-sonorous screens suspended in spaced order in said frame to set in parallel planes in echelon, thus to permit ventilating currents to pass between adjacent screens and to reduce transmission of sound waves.

2. A sound reducing fitment for ventilating apertures, including a window having a main frame angularly inclined outwardly from the vertical, and a sub-sash adapted to swing on an axis in the main frame, in combination with a rollable non-sonorous screen adapted to be unrolled and set in a non-vertical plane extending inward from the inner side of the main frame.

3. A sound reducing fitment for ventilating apertures, including a window havlng a 7 tending inward from the inner side of the main frame.

4. A sound reducing fitment for ventilat ing apertures, includinga window having av main frame angularly inclined outwardly from the vertical, and a plurality of subsashes adapted to swing on horizontal axes in the main frame, in combination'with a rollable non-sonorous screen adapted to be unrolled and set in a non-vertical plane extending inward from the inner sidev of the main frame.

5. A sound reducing fitment for ventilating apertures, including a window having a main frame angularly inclined outwardly from the vertical, and a sub-sash adapted to swing on an axis in the main frame, in comin the main frame, in combination with a plurality of rollable non-sonorous screens adapted to be unrolled and set in parallel non-vertical planes extending inwardfrom the inner side of the main frame.

7. A sound reducing fitment as claimed in claim 6, including a rigid sound proof panel filling the space between the lower edges of the window and the aperture.

8. A sound reducing fitment. as claimed in claim 6, including a rigid sound proof panel filling the space between the lower edges of the window and the aperture, said panel being perforated to allow ventilating air currents to pass through it.

9. A sound reducing fitment as claimed in claim 6, including a rigid sound proof panel filling the space between the lower edges of the window and the aperture, and, sound proof panels fitted in the spaces between the side edges of the window andthe aperture.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. I

ERNEST THOMAS FISK. 

